


New Beginnings

by TheQueenAndHerSwan



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 14:15:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17664197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueenAndHerSwan/pseuds/TheQueenAndHerSwan
Summary: I opened my door to find a toddler sobbing on my porch...I swear I had seen her before.





	1. Chapter 1

            “What?” I snarled as I pulled open the door with such force it scared even me. I had been sitting in my office, trying to enjoy a book on the couch, when the sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the empty house. Henry was off spending time with his grandparents for the weekend, doing who-knows-what, meaning I was the only person in the large, haunting mansion. This was the first day I had off in weeks, and it painted me, more than I was willing to admit, that I had to spend it alone. All the snarky retorts I had organized on my short walk from the couch to the door died in my throat when I opened the door to find a small blonde toddler sobbing on my front porch.

            I instantly leaned down to the young girls level, feeling my mayoral mask slip off, “Sweetie?” I asked almost timidly, not sure who the child was, and why they had knocked on the former Evil Queen’s door. ‘ _She looks familiar_ ,’ I thought but quickly dismissed it to having walked past her on the street at some point. When I didn’t receive a reply, I took a moment to look her over. She wasn’t more than three years old, her clothes were sagging around her small frame – seemingly a few sizes too big for her – but what made my heart clench were the tears streaming silently down her face. I gently reached out a hand to touch the girl’s shoulder, praying that she wouldn’t flinch away.

            Green eyes shot up from the ground when I touched her, I could feel her body tensing up under my hand. She sniffed, trying to stop the cries what were now wracking her body. I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, but was cut off when strong arms flew around my neck. “Shhhh,” I whispered wrapping my arms around her body and picking her up, I couldn’t help but notice how light she was. I took a step onto the porch, glancing around my yard to see if the young girl’s parents were anywhere near. Coming up short, I stepped back into the mansion, shutting the door with my foot. I began to bounce back and forth as if by habit, trying my best to south the toddler.

            I don’t know how long I stood in the foyer waiting for the blonde girl in my arms to calm down enough for me to talk to her, it could have been hours for all I knew. I ran my hands through her hair, knowing it was something that had always soothed Henry when he was upset, and it wasn’t long before I heard the girl’s breathing start to even out. She still had her arms wrapped around my neck as if she was afraid for me to disappear. I carefully sat down on the landing stairs, peeling off my heels in the process.

            “Sweetie?” I tried again, this time with a little more curiosity and pain in my tone. She sat up in my arms, bringing her hands to wipe her tears along her sweater sleeve; her green eyes met mine as she took a few deep breaths. “What’s your name darling?” I asked, rubbing my hands up and down her back, not wanting to make her start crying again. ‘ _Those tears were heart wrenching_.’

            “Emma,” the toddler whispered between double breaths, she was trying not to make eye contact with me. She pulled at the shift around her body, trying to make it fit better. It was obvious she wasn’t very comfortable in what she was wearing, and it made me curious as to who gave her the clothes, and with sans shoes no less.

            I felt my own body tense as I wondered if it was just a coincidence that she had the same name as my savior. ‘ _Wait, my savior?_ ’ I gradually pulled back the small hands coving the girl’s face, taking in Emma’s facial features. I barely was able to swallow my gasp, as I realized the piercing green eyes staring back at me were indeed the same ones I had challenged all those times. Before I could ask her anything else, there was a loud knock on the door. The tiny Emma went rigid in my arms, adrenaline running through her body, ‘ _Who is she so afraid of?_ ’ I recognized the actions from what Henry used to do when he was her age. I placed her on the stair next to me and stood up to answer the urgent knock.

            A small whimper wrenched through the toddler’s body ad my hand reached the door knob, and without thinking I turned quickly around and made the short few steps back to her. I picked her up again, my brain not even recognizing it was the woman that had destroyed my life just a few short months ago. I was wrapping my arms tightly around her when the knock rang out gain, louder than before Emma’s breathing picked up with every step we took towards the door, I opened it feeling the child’s silent tears miss my tank top and land on my skin as she tucked her face into my neck.

            “Regina, have you…” Snow trailed off as she saw the small bundle in my arms. I could practically feel the nerves and energy coming off in waves as she spoke up again, “Emma! There you are!” She made a move to grab for her daughter, but pulled back when a loud scream came from her (oldest?) child.

            Unconsciously I started rocking her back and forth, glaring at the woman on my door step. I turned around and walked towards my living room, leaving the door open for Snow to follow if she wished. All I cared about was calming the abnormally young Emma. I felt her shift around in my arms for a few seconds before laying her had down on my shoulder again, arms wrapped around herself, snuggling as close as she could to me. I resisted the motherly urge to place a kiss on her forehead, knowing that Snow was now watching my every move.

            After a few minutes of me pacing around the room, I sat down on the couch across from my former step daughter. I listened to Emma’s soft breathing indicating that she had fallen asleep, before I spoke up softly. “How did this happen?” I can’t imagine what sort of day this girl had already had.

            Out of habit from when Henry was this age, I started rocking back and forth again, earning a weird-constipated look from Snow; luckily for me she decided not to comment on it, I didn’t know how I was going to explain me coddling my former enemy anyways. Snow ripped her eyes away from her daughter, landing on the invisible spot of lint on her pants, picking at it absentmindedly. Clearing her throat before answering, I watched her wring her fingers together in desperation, “Charming and I woke up this morning to find her like this,” she gestured towards Emma without looking up, “We took her to the Blue Fairy, and she said it had something to do with her magic shorting out or something.” She shrugged her shoulders, telling me that she didn’t honestly understand it herself.

            I murmured something incoherent, barely reaching her ears in acknowledgement. “How long did the gnat say she was going to stay like this?” Emma started to stir in my arms, waking up from her short nap, too exhausted to sleep any longer.

            “She doesn’t know, Blue said it might be for a while,” Snow mumbled, before straightening up and looking at me again, her eyes tried to harden as she changed the subject. “She cries every time anyone tries to pick her up, or feed her – even Henry.” Emma groggily sat up and rubbed her eyes, one hand now gripping the strap of my tank top to make sure I didn’t go anywhere. “The orphanage gave us a few clothes for her for the time being, but no one knows how long until she’ll change back, we even took her to Gold.” I watched as Snow’s eyes roamed over her daughter’s small frame, instant regret forming over her face. She lost her daughter once to the curse I had enacted, and now that she had a second chance, she couldn’t keep the girl under control.

            She made a sudden move to stand up and reach for Emma again, but I was quick to shoot that idea down. Shaking my head, she sat down and waited for what I was going to say. For a moment I pulled the all-mighty savior back into my chest, trying to get her to go back to sleep, buying myself more time before I answered. “She doesn’t want to go with you,” I stated, not really asking the question that had been gnawing at my brain. ‘ _Why does she trust me and not you? What did you do to her?_ ’

            There was a loud sigh as the teacher whispered towards the ground, “I know, but I’ve already asked everyone in town if they’ll take her. She doesn’t seem to like Neal, and I can’t take care of two small children at the same time.” She seemed embarrassed at what she way admitting, her hand rubbing her cheeks before falling into her lap once again. “Charming wants us to keep her, but he’s working two shifts at the Sheriff’s station right now…” she trailed off, awkwardly looking at something outside the window behind me, trying to reassure herself of something.

            “I’ll take her.” ‘ _What_?’ Unsure of why I said that, I shook off the surprise quickly as I watched the other woman’s head shoot up.

            “Really?”

            I nodded. “Yes, she seems perfectly calm with me,” Emma sat up again, having not fallen asleep again. All eyes were on her as she pulled desperately at my tank, “What sweetheart?”

            Emma just sat there for a moment, her hand still wrapped around my shirt as she looked over at Snow out of the corner of her eyes, trying to gauge if she was coming to pick her up. “Me stay?” Her eyes were wide and inquisitive as she deemed it safe enough to look back at me. I remember how Henry said she moved around a lot when she was younger, before eventually ending up in some orphanage – it made me want to vomit thinking about how some people were just able to throw away kids like they were yesterday’s garbage.

            I looked up to see Snow nod, hiding her face back in her hands before standing up to try and escape the situation. “I will bring her things over tomorrow,” we both glanced at the clock on the wall, it was nearly 8.

            “Wait, Snow!” I ordered as she turned to walk out the door, before speaking softly to Emma, “Wait here for a moment while I go talk to Snow, okay sweetheart?” I ran my fingers through her hair trying to see if she was going to cry again when I put her down. She didn’t reply so I picked her up and placed her on the couch beside me. I gestured towards the hallway, waiting for Snow to close the door the living room before I spoke up again. “Are you sure about this?”

            “Yes.” I could see the tears welling up in the other woman’s eyes. She was trying to give up her child for the second time in her life, and I could only imagine what was going through her head at the moment. “I know David won’t agree, but someone needs to watch her, someone she feels comfortable with. And I guess with you having magic, you are as good as anyone.” Her voice was barely audible, and if I wasn’t facing her, I wouldn’t have heard her. Snow nodded again before turning to leave without saying another word.

            I closed the door behind her and leaned my forehead against the cool wood. ‘ _What did I just get myself into?_ ’ I sighed, trying to forge that there was toddler in my living room, who was supposed to be adult sized, and that she was probably wondering where I was. Taking a deep breath I shook off my worry and concern, my goal just being to take care of little Emma as best I could until Blue or Gold found a solution to change her back.

            “Hello?” I head a shy voice ask from the living room doorway, a few feet from me. I turned to see small, bright green eyes staring back at me.

            “Hey Emma,” I whispered, almost in awe at how small the girl seemed to be. I walked slowly towards her, bending down to her height, “I’m Regina,” I told her, professionally sticking out my hand for her to shake. Her eyes fell to my hand, but made no move to take it.

            “Gina?” Emma repeated after a moment, trying out the name. I smiled at the nickname, wondering if she could say her ‘R’s. She rubbed her eyes again, trying to stay away while she stood on the wood floor, her feet most likely cold without any socks on.

            I drew in a shaky breath, “Yep,” I replied uncharacteristically. I waited a moment to watch her response. “Do you know who that woman was Emma?”

            She nodded, “She said she’s my mommy,” her voice was so small, and her bottom lip started to pout, “but I don’t have a mommy.” It suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks, ‘ _She doesn’t remember anything_.’ Everything that had happened to her in the past 28 years was washed away. All she knows is the foster system. I searched my brain to remember when I had did my ‘research’ as to how many homes she had been in by the age of three. ‘ _Five_.’

            “But she is,” I said bringing myself back to the present. I took a hold of one of her hands.

            “But I don’t like her. She scary.” Her emerald eyes glanced at the front door. “and the daddy yelled at me today…I don’t know why…” ‘ _Charming._ ’ I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, knowing it was something he would do. ‘ _You don’t just yell at a child, especially when they don’t know what it’s for._ ’ Emma let out a loud yawn, her own way of changing the subject I realized. She had moved around so often, according to her now older-than-her son, and it occurred to me that she didn’t care that she was in yet, another home.

            “Are you sleepy, honey?” I asked, my lips turning up into a smile as she slowly let out another quiet yawn. “Come on, let’s get you into bed.” She nodded, looking too much like Henry, before stepping forwards and wrapping her arms around my neck like before. I figured she could skip the bath for one night, after the long day she’s had, but I made a mental reminder to get her clean the second I had the chance. I carried her up the stairs and into one of the many unused guest rooms, and placed her on the bed.

            The dresser was on the opposite side of the wall, just below the blackout curtained windows, the rest of the walls bare. I caught Emma looking around the room as I ‘shuffled’ through the dresser drawer. “What pajamas do you want to wear?” I asked her, wanting her to feel comfortable with me here, and not at all threatened. I looked over my shoulder at her when she didn’t answer, she shrugged when she caught my eyes. “You don’t know?” Again, another shrug. “hmmm…” I muttered playfully as I turned back to the drawer. I made sure my hands were low enough for her not to see before I magicked up a pair of blue and green flannel matching pajamas.

            She grinned from ear to ear when they came into view, making me smile back at her excitement. I guided her to the bathroom across the hall and helped her go to the bathroom before she tugged the clothing over her head, obviously in love with the small gesture. I made a mental reminder to magic up a few toys when she was asleep, and carried her small frame back to the hallway. “My room is right there, okay?” I pointed to the door next to her’s and informed her to come and get me if she needed anything.

            “Thank you,” she whispered when I placed her on the over sized bed. The second her head hit the pillow, she was softly snoring. “You’re nice,” I thought I head her say, almost in a dream-like state when I closed the door. I put my back against the wood, ‘ _What in the world just happened?_ ’

            I clambered into my own bedroom, nearly on autopilot, as I quickly changed and wiped off my make up before laying down. Images of normal sized Emma rushed through my brain; the day she arrived in Storybrooke, her sitting in the Sheriff’s chair at work, and the multiple times I had seen her at Granny’s. I always thought if she disappeared, it would be a welcome relief. But as I laid there, I found myself missing her – the longer I stared up at the ceiling, I could feeling something else bubbling up just below the surface. Something I hadn’t felt since… “Daniel.”


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning I woke to a small hand pulling at the short sleeve shirt I had thrown on for bed the previous night. I groggily opened my eyes, jumping out of my skin as I saw a head of blonde hair peak up over the mattress. ‘ _Who is…oh right, Emma._ ’ It too my brain a moment to catch up with what had happened last night. I sat up and glanced at the clock next to my bed, it had barely just turned 7.

            "Gina?" a small voice said, trying to determine if I was awake enough to answer or not.

            I rubbed my eyes and put my feet solidly on the floor, I could have done with a little more sleep, but this would have to do. "What sweetie?"

            I watched as her body curled into herself before saying anything, almost like I was going to hit her for asking for something. "I hungry?" ' _What happened in those foster homes?_ ' From what I had seen she doesn't do well with people she doesn't know or trust, and is used to getting in trouble for asking for food. I started to wonder how she would do in the bath, because she looked like she hadn't had one in a while.

            I picked up her small body after shaking myself back to earth, and placed her next to be on the bed as I put on my slippers, and pulled by robe over my own body. "What do you want to eat?" The smile I received for asking that simple question amazed me, I couldn't help but smile in return. She didn't say anything, having not thought that far ahead yet. "Pancakes?" I suggested, knowing that they were easy to make, and that little Emma would have a fun time trying to help make them.

            She bounced off the bed, landing ungracefully on the floor, "Yes!" She paused wanting to try some right away. "What are pancakes?" Her head tilted to the side, searching her memory for what the breakfast food was.

            I laughed silently as her brows furrowed. "I'll show you sweetheart, they're yummy!" I stood and picked her up again, placing her on my hip. "Okay, but first we need to have a bath, okay honey?" the second the b-a-t-h word came out of my mouth, she squirmed and scowled, the only way a three year old could, causing me to practically drop her as she went flying over my shoulder. "Ssshhh, sshhh," I rocked her for a second, but things only seemed to get worse. I guess I found my answer at how she would do in the bath.

            "No! NOooo!" she yelled in my ear, causing me to flinch. Even when Henry was this little he never threw tantrums like this. ' _But if you have a lot of people in the same house and you need attention…_ ' I paused realizing I was more like Miss Swan than I cared to admit. I used to do the same thing back in the Enchanted Forest with my mother – it was one of the main reasons Cora had eventually started to punish me with magic.

            I forced my body to relax as a shiver ran down my spine; I pushed the memories of my mother away in order to deal with the little bundle in my arms. "Calm down princess," the whispered words automatically flowing through my mouth before my brain understands what I'm saying. Emma's temper practically washed away when she heard the words, her cries dying down to only a few soft breaths. "No bath, okay? I promise," I tilted my head back so she could look me in the eyes to know I was serious. "But," her body went rigid, “I do need to find some way to clean you up," her breathing started picking up again. "A princess has to look her best right?"

            Emma nodded into my shoulder, I could see the realization run over her face as she grasped the shirt I was wearing tight between her tiny fists. "O-okay," she mutely answered, hiccupping. I walked into my bathroom and placed her on the counter while talking to her about how "real" princesses look and dress. I was retelling my life growing up - leaving out the evil parts of course –but she was none the wiser. To her the life of fairy tales were just that, fairy tales.

            I started filling the basin of the sink as Emma talked animatedly about a movie she had seen in one of her foster homes. ' _She seems to have warmed to me_ ,' I watched her babble on and on, much more talkative than the previous day. I bit my tongue suddenly when I realized she was describing Snow White and all her _loveliness_. Grabbing a cloth from the cabinet underneath, the golden haired toddler grew somber. "I don't like the Evil Queen though," she whispered as if she was going to upset me. "She's like that woman from yesterday, the one who said she's my mom." ' _If only you knew princess._ '

            Quickly taking the former 30 year old's clothes off, which sounds a little awkward now that I think about it, I dipped the cloth into the water, and gently scrubbed the dirt from the poor child. "We're almost done, okay Emma?" She had gone suddenly quiet, I was washing around her neck, and I couldn't help but notice how she had almost kicked me when I reached her face. She nodded, and it pained me to see how accustomed she was to being told what to do, I hadn't seen her misbehave once since she arrived yesterday. By this time little Henry would have been throwing around the bed linens, or hiding somewhere in the room because he refused to take a bath. Something told me that Miss Swan wasn't treated right when she got out of line.

            I ran the cloth over her hair to help get some of the dirt out, but ended up helping her brush it in to a pony tail so it wasn't so bothersome. I guided her back to the guest room she had stayed in previously, and 'pulled' a pair of child-sized jeans and a plain red t-shirt out of the dresser for her. "Okay, ready for pancakes?" I asked, trying to remind myself to revert back to short sentences for the small girl.

            When I turned back around from closing the dresser drawer, all I saw was a puff of blonde hair running around the corner into the hallway, way too excited to eat. ' _Just like the old Emma, always wanting to eat,_ ' I chuckled and couldn't help but let a small smile wash against my face as I quickly folded her pajamas and placed them down on top of her pillow. I allowed my feet to move just a little bit faster than normal as I saw her bound down around the stairs and into the kitchen.

            By the time the little Emma and I had made –and devoured – the pancakes, it was nearly 9 o'clock. As I was putting the dishes away from the mess the two of us had made, I saw her shifting in the raised seat I had 'found' in the closet for her. "Emma?" Her green eyes shot up to mine in curiosity; almost as if she thought she'd done something wrong. "Why don't you go into the living room and play with the toys I placed in there earlier for you?" After studying me for a minute more, she nodded, following instructions like usual. I cleaned the rest up by using my magic, not wanting to leave a toddler alone for too long, and I was almost to the living room when the doorbell sounded.

            I knew who it was before I even reached for the handle, forcing myself to be nice for Emma's sake. If it was up to me I would have opened the door with a fireball at the ready in the palm of my hand, "Snow, Charming, come in." I plastered a fake smile on my face for the woman, hesitating slightly as I wondered how Emma was going to react. I glanced into the living room, making sure she was playing with her toys before I led the two of them silently into the dining room where we could talk out of hearing distance of little ears.

            Snow's throat bobbed as she swallowed thickly, "Here are a few of her things," she handed me an old backpack I recognized as Henry's. "None of the clothes really fit, but I put her baby blanket in there in case she wants it." The school teacher's head was down, unable to look me in the eyes, and I couldn't help but stare at just how weak she looked; her shoulders were slumped, there were tears running down her cheeks, and there was a certain aura around her making me uncomfortable. Last year I would have been ecstatic to see the woman acting like this, but for some reason it wasn’t as pleasant as I had thought.

            After a moment I opened my moth to thank her, but was rudely interrupted when Charming's voice boomed through the spacious room. My eyebrows shot up to my forehead as I glared at him, daring him to stop me from talking, but I barely got a word out as pushed right on through me. "How can she even stand you? God knows this town barely puts up with you." I had never heard him yell like this before, his voice seemed to bounce off the marble counter tops across the room, making it feel like I could hear him everywhere I turned.

            I paused, my back stiffening as I answered, "Be glad I took her, the way your precious Snow described it, everyone wanted nothing to do with her." I could feel the Evil Queen coursing through my blood as I took a few paces towards him, stepping right up in his face. I almost spit all over him as I proceeded to try and make him back down, "She doesn't even like you, why do you think she begged me yesterday to keep her?" ' _Okay, maybe 'beg' isn't the right word to use._ ' "She barely let Snow touch her yesterday, let alone hold her, what were you going to do with her? Pick her up and carry her to your truck while she's screaming the whole time?" I suddenly became aware of how loud I was talking and tried to lower it, but it was useless.

            "It's not that hard to pick up a child," he sniffed, trying to play me off as I had only ever been a measly little bug in his life. I shook my head silently, trying to calm myself down, but before I could respond to him he swiftly turned and started walking towards the living room. "Just watch, she'll be fine, and the three of us can go home and forget all about this." I attempted to forgive his anger by remembering that he had lost his daughter twice now, but I couldn't because the second I started to, a loud scream erupted from the other side of the house.

            ' _God I hope he acts better around Neal._ ' I found myself thinking, I could only imagine what he was like with his youngest child. Snow and I locked eyes in a look of agreement, both of us nodding and silently vowing to make sure Emma stayed under my custody until someone found the cure for the age reversal spell that she had cast upon herself. Charming suddenly came bounding into the room with his daughter tightly head to his chest, trying to act as if the loud noise wasn't bothering him that much. "See?" He attempted to say smugly – Snow and I just stood there staring at the pair.

            Eventually, Emma had squirmed and screamed enough that the 'brave' prince practically threw her to the ground, wanting her to calm down. My heart skipped a beat as her feet hit the ground without warning, causing her to fall on her knees and cry even louder. ' _Emma!_ ' I held my breath as I reached for her, picking her up instantly, and checking her over to see if she had any bruises.

            "Here," Snow said, clearing her throat after a moment, she shuffled through the backpack and held up the baby blanket. I could feel Charming's eyes glaring at the back of my head as I reached for the object and walked over to my purse. With one hand I grabbed my perfume and sprayed it lightly over the fabric, making sure not to overdo it, and had Snow wrap it around her daughter, causing more silent tears to run down her face. I felt sorry for her, but there was nothing I could do if Emma refused to go to her. I looked back to speak to Charming, but he was nowhere to be found, he must have walked out the door when neither of us were looking.

            "He'll come around Snow," I whispered, trying to reassure her over Emma's silent hiccuping. It amazed me at how fast I could change from die-hard Evil Queen, to the mother Cora never was to me. The shorter brunette gave me a watery smile before promising to call me if Blue or Gold found a cure for Emma, she paused like she was going to say something more, but instead chose to duck out of the dining room leaving me and Emma standing there albeit awkwardly.

            I waited a few seconds, hearing the door close silently behind her, before making my way to the living room, I found one toy out of the toy bin on the ground, and wondered if Emma had been listening in our conversation the whole time. Taking a deep breath to clear my head, I put on a movie before sitting back gently on the couch, both of our bodies tense. Within a few minutes, I had laid down with Emma's head on my chest, cradling her as I ran a hand up and down her back soothingly. I didn't pay any attention to the movie, but instead through of all the things the poor child must have gone through in the past few years of her younger life. I knew in reality it had been nearly three decades, but in the tiny blonde's mind, it must have been only a few days. But for all I know, she could have barely made it out of her old foster homes alive. ' _No one's ever going to hurt you again Princess, I promise._ '

            The TV ran quietly in the background as I started to tell Emma of the stories in Henry's storybook, and how if she would have grown up in the Enchanted Forest, she would have been a real princess. It felt good to just lay there and rattle off a story as she cuddled up to my chest, not quite sure what else to do. Her hands wrapped around the edge of her baby blanket, and I could hear her breath even out as she finally fell asleep, completely calm. Not wanting to get up just yet, I told her about this amazing woman I had met a couple years ago, and how she was the mother of my child, but never had had the chance to tell her about the feelings that have started to bubble up inside me.

            As I ended my story, my eyelids started to droop. "Sweet dreams, darling," I placed a small kiss on the top of her head before succumbing to sleep just like her.


	3. Chapter 3

            I shifted from my spot on the white leather couch, clutching Emma tighter in my arms wondering what woke me up when the front door slammed shut. "Mom?" Henry called out, I could hear him taking off his shoes and putting his things away. As quietly as I could I snaked Emma onto the couch and covered her with her baby blanket, before making my way out into the hallway to see my son. "Hey mom," he smiled as he bent down to place kiss on my cheek – he was getting way too tall.

            I mimicked, knowing that two years ago the best I would have gotten from him was a grunt. "She's asleep right now, so try and be a little quieter," I knew that if I didn't tell him, he was going to go clomping up the stairs as if he was the only one in the world who could hear.

            I tilted my head as I caught him smiling at something, but it slowly faded before I could ask. "Can I stay here?" he asked hesitantly, as if he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to with Emma in the house.

            "Of course Henry," I answered, confirming to him that it was his house too, and just because we had a visitor didn't mean that he wasn't able to be here too. I grabbed his bag and guided him up to his room, helping him put his things away kissing him on his cheek as I finished. I didn't dare ask why he wanted to stay with me instead of his grandparents like he had been doing, but I could only imagine it was because of Charming's quick temper.

            I left him alone for a few minutes, going in search of the baby monitor I had bought when he was suffering with nightmares after Neverland, it made that whole time a lot easier. Finding it right where I left it, I placed new batteries inside before strapping one part of the monitor to the belt loop on my jeans and turning to leave the other monitor on the coffee table where Emma was still fast asleep. ‘ _She looks so adorable._ ’ I found myself standing there for much longer than necessary and had a hard time forcing myself to walk away. Making sure both parts of the baby monitor was on, I went in search of Henry again to see if he was hungry; but by the time I found him, he was sitting at the kitchen counter eating a sandwich he had made in my absence.

            After his impromptu lunch, Henry laid his homework out on the counter asking if he could get some help. I nodded before telling him that he needed to work on his own a little bit while I made chocolate chip cookies, and he whole heartedly agreed if it meant he got to lick the left over batter out of the bowl. It was nearly forty minutes later when the two of us paused, little patters could be heard on the wood flooring down the hall both of use assuming it was Emma. I glanced down at the baby monitor that was now sitting on the counter next to me, I hadn't heard her wake up I must have been busy helping Henry with his math homework neither of us really understood.

            I slid the last tray of cookies into the oven before turning around and seeing Henry subtly smiling at something in the doorway. "Hey princess," I murmured, knowing that Henry caught the term of endearment. Emma shuffled her feet over to me, rubbing her eyes like I had seen her do a few times since she'd arrived. She leaned into my leg, grabbing slightly at the jeans I wore, and buried her face into my thigh. I could see her looking at Henry out of the corner of her eye, and when I suggested she should try and go to the bathroom, she just buried herself more into my side. It was times like this that I forgot that she used to be 30 years old. 'Doesn't do well with older kids,' I added to my mental list, trying to remember all the things that had so far 'triggered' the little girl      

            I saw Henry stand up before sitting down on the ground, his legs splayed out in front of him. "Hi, Emma" he whispered, trying not to scare his younger mother off. He reached out his hand and tried his best to not make her feel threatened, but she didn't move from her spot against me. She waved, but that was as much as he was getting at that moment. "Sorry," I mouthed to him, trying not to make he feel so bad, he just shrugged in response.

            I turned to clean up the cookie mess, putting the bowls in the dishwasher, the toddler strapped to my legs the whole time. Henry had presumably disappeared to go play video games after cleaning up his own mess, not wanting to miss a single second. I grabbed the few files I had brought home the other day next, knowing that if I didn't get them signed and finished, they would be late for the town meeting the next morning. I sat Emma down next to my desk in my pure black and white office, the color scheme making her look very out of place. She was fiddling with a doll, trying to pretend she wasn't glancing at me every ten seconds.

            Henry popped his head around the corner sometime later, "Hey mom?" I looked up, "Can we have Granny's for dinner?" I glanced down at the clock on my laptop, my eyes going wide, I had been working for nearly 4 hours. I nodded, answering quickly before searching the room for the toddler I had momentarily forgotten – she wasn't sitting on the floor anymore. ' _Fuck. I lost her already._ '

            "She's upstairs in my room," Henry said trying to hide his smile behind the hand that was hanging onto the door jam.

            My head snapped to look at him, "Really?" I felt my eyebrow lift uncontrollably.

            He laughed again before stepping into the room and sitting one of the seats across from me. "Yeah, she came up earlier and told me you were working, I asked her if she wanted to play video games but she said no. She's been sitting on my bed ever since." I watched as he opened his mouth a few times, wanting to ask me something, but I didn't push it.

            We sat like that for a while as I looked at the edge of his t-shirt he was fiddling with, both of us wondering who was going to break and speak first. I stood and walked around my desk, kneeling in front of him, placing my hands over his. "Are you okay Henry?"

            A single tear ran down his cheek before he looked up at me, "What if…" his voice choked and grew weaker as he spoke.

            I wasted no time before I lifted him up and took his place on the chair, placing him on my lap like I used to do when he was younger. It had been years since I had seen him cry, and made my heart ache as his body started to curl into itself. "I know you miss her Henry," I said with more strength then I really had, I was trying to force myself not to cry. "But I promise you," he gagged on a sob, "Blue and Gold WILL find a way to change her back." I let my head fall against his, ' _I miss her too Henry, more than you know._ '

            The two of us sat there for a while before I felt Henry lean away from me and reach up to wipe the tears from my face, I didn't even realize I was crying. I sniffed as I tried to regain my composure. "How about this," I helped his stand to his feet before he helped in me up in the process, "I'll write down what the three of us want from Granny's and you can text it to Red? Then the three of us can make a little trip of it and go and pick it up." It was hard to admit that when Henry smiled next, he looked more like his blonde mother than I wanted.

            He nodded and dismissed himself, saying something about wanting to go check on Emma, leaving me alone to shut down my computer and get our orders ready. I stood at my desk silently, my eyes screwed shut tight, before whispering, "I miss you Emma." It was the first time I had said it out loud and it made everything seem so much more real.

            It was almost an hour later when we had finally got to the diner at the center of town, it had taken a while to try and convince Emma that we needed to go get food and that I wasn't going to drop her off somewhere and leave her. The way she had wrapped her arms around herself as we stood on the porch of the house made me want to start crying again, but I remembered that I needed to stay strong for her, for Emma. Eventually she allowed me to pick her up, the only way she would leave the house, and take the short walk to Grannys.

            The diner was packed, making me happy that Henry had called in our meals early, not wanting to wait in the long line that nearly out the door for take-out orders. My arms were starting to get tired as Emma wiggled slightly against my chest, but the pain was worth it as I saw the two matching smiles as we grabbed the paper bags full of food. I tried to keep the tiny princess distracted from the all the wondering eyes, but when Henry came back from paying for the food, she had ducked her head into my neck and was refusing to look up. It seemed that was her go-to position when something was making her uncomfortable.

            As we turned to leave I caught a glimpse of Snow and Charming sitting in the back feeding Neal. Snow had placed a hand on Charming's arm, eloquently telling him not to do anything that would attract attention. I nodded at the small family before leading my own out the door, I could hear the previously quiet diner erupt in questions the second the door was closed, not caring that we could still hear them half way down the street.

            It had taken Emma nearly the entire walk home to feel at ease enough to come out of her hiding spot, eventually even feeling relaxed enough to walk to the last hundred yards to the mansion on her own. My little family, ' _When did I start calling us that?_ ' set about eating our dinner, and made quick work of going to bed.

            "Good night mom, good night Emma," Henry muttered before he kissing both of us on the cheek, creating a huge smile on my face when I watched as Emma didn't flinch away from his contact. I whispered good night as he bounded up the stairs already tired after the trying day.

            Emma and I followed him up as we walked to the room Emma was currently using. I helped her change into her pajamas and was tucking her in when I realized that she hadn't said anything since before she had decided to watch her 'son' play video games hours earlier. "Are you okay sweetheart?"

            She shook her head, and clutched her baby blanket against her chest tighter, "I sleep with you?"

            Not even hesitating I picked up her lithe frame up, cradling her in my arms, "Of course, honey." We made the short journey to my room and I placed her on the center of my bed, tucking her in once again. I planted a small kiss on the used-to-be-30-years-old forehead before I left to get ready for bed myself. It was so easy for me to act like the girl's mother, but it hurt that I had a hard time remembering that she wasn't mine and that I was just watching her until someone found a magical cure.

            ' _How did I get myself into this mess?_ ' I asked myself, already confusing my feelings for the different versions of Emma, which made me wonder if I really was in love with the older Emma, or if it was just because of how small she currently was. ' _Wait…love?_ '

            I took a shower hurriedly, figuring I had enough time now that she was asleep, and slipped back into the room to see the tiny toddler thrashing back and forth on the bed. She had herself tangled up in her blanket, almost on the verge of screaming. Panic ran through me as I tried to untwist the cloth from around her body, making it easier for her to breathe before I laid down next to her pulling her flush against my body. I started humming a song I had sung to Henry when he was this age and before I knew it, I felt the princess snuggle her way into my arms waking up slowly.

            “Gina?”

            I ran my hands up and down her back, feeling her nuzzle into my chest. I couldn't help but wonder if the adult Emma would do the same thing if given the opportunity. "I'm right here, baby," I muttered, shrinking back as I replayed what I said in my head. I kissed her on the crown of her head after a moment, noticing when she slid herself away to sit up next to me. Mimicking her position, I took a deep breath, ' _Now or never._ ' If I didn't talk to her now, I don't think I ever would. "Emma, sweetie, can I talk to you for a moment?"

            Her shoulders shrugged, looking at me from under her eyelashes; something I realized I had seen the adult Emma do on more than one occasion. "Emma," I swallowed down the lump growing in the throat, "did anything ever happen in your other homes that shouldn't have happened?" She tried to duck her head away, letting me take that has her answer, but I cradled her chin in my hand and coaxed her to look up at me.

            'Please tell me.' I had seen enough in the past day to definitely know that some form of abuse had happened; between when she flinched away from older people, only touching people she trusted, hiding her face or body when she didn't want to be seen, and being forced into something she didn't want to do, told me everything I really needed to know.

            "The home before the scary lady and man," Emma sniffed, I shifted my hand to run my fingers through her hair, "the man put me in closet."

            I took a few deep breaths, "Do you know how long you were in there?" I tried to pull her into my arms but released her when she pushed me away.

            She shrugged innocently, "No." I could feel the Evil Queen in me trying to come out, and I found myself wanting to find whoever was in charge of her last and make their life a living hell. ' _But that was thirty years ago,_ ' I reminded myself, it was becoming harder to distinguish the lives between the two Emmas.

            Eventually we both laid back down and the words from earlier were playing over and over in my head like a broken record player, ' _I'm right here, baby.’_ Someday wished I would have the opportunity to whisper that into the blonde hair of the older savior, but for tonight I wrapped by arms around the toddler, trying to keep her safe. "I love you Emma," I murmured into the quiet room when I knew she had fallen asleep. I felt a piece of me missing when I looked down at the small girl in my arms, it was then that I realized just how much that I wished the former Sheriff would come back.


	4. Chapter 4

            "Gina!" a worried tone pulled me awake quickly. I hadn't slept all that well that night, I had found myself watching the young princess sleep instead of following suit. "Gina!" she practically yelled again, pulling on my sleeve. Her voice was urgent, but it didn't connect in my brain that something terrible had happened.

            I sniffed, running my hand under my nose. "What's wrong sweetheart?" Trying to summon what little energy I had, I laid back down and figured whatever she wanted could wait a few more minutes for me to wake up.

            My head had just hit the pillow, my eyes still not open when I felt one of her hands lightly hit me on the shoulder, trying to get my attention the only way a toddler could. "Henry's gone! Something wrong!" She pulled my sleeve harder, using it to crawl up the bed to straddle my stomach. When my eyes flew open her eyes were wide with panic, not knowing what to do.

            I forgot she was sitting on my torso and when I shot up out of bed she got thrown onto the floor, she didn't seem to care but instantly grabbed my leg and pulled herself up. I made sure she was okay before frantically asking, "What do you mean he's missing?" I forced my body calm down, trying to convince myself that he was just downstairs eating breakfast and wasn't in his room when Emma went to look for him. "He's probably just downstairs, did you look for him there?" I was crouching down on the floor so I was the same height as her.

            She nodded quickly before grabbing two fingers on one of my hands and racing out the door. I smiled as her hand was too small to grab my whole hand but I quickly snapped out of it when I remembered what was going on, my heart was beating way too fast. When she dragged me into Henry's room Emma let go of me to stand in the middle of the room, her tiny hands pointing to the mess that had been created. Henry's bed was practically torn apart, sheets ripped, the mattress in shambles, and the bookshelf mangled into splinters as the books laid crinkled on the floor. It looked like the wraith had come through, destroying everything in its path.

            Before I could even think, my legs were running down the stairs yelling for my baby boy. "Henry! Henry!" ' _This has to be some sort of mistake!_ ' Emma found me a few minutes later, sunk down on the floor in the foyer, unable to find him. ' _He's gone._ ' The rest of the house, I found out, looked exactly like his bedroom; the couches were turned over and ripped, photo frames were cracked, and the dishes in the kitchen were in shards on the ground. Someone had come through during the night and destroyed everything but my room. I was suddenly very happy that Emma had decided to sleep with me last night, who knows what would have happened if she had been in the guest room by herself – Henry I know is strong, he can fend for himself, but the tiny savior wouldn't stand a chance.

            I felt two small hands reach up and wipe the tears away from my face, reminding me of what Henry had done in my office the previous day. Emma reminded me that I wasn't alone in the house as she sat in my lap on the floor, and before I could even think about it was I wrapping my arms tightly around her hoping she wouldn't disappear like our son. It took me a couple tries but I finally managed to stand from our position on the floor and reach for my phone to call the stand-in Sheriff.

            Desperately pushing the buttons I pulled Emma closer to my body, her arms wrapping around my neck, trying to make me feel better. I kissed her on the head right before Charming's voice echo through the speaker. "Sheriff's station, Charming speaking." He sounded bored, and I almost felt sympathy towards him, nothing really ever happened in this town…well for the witches, magic, Neverland, and Henry going missing.

            "Charming!" I pleaded in my royal voice, trying to hide the fact that I was scared senseless. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hearing me upset. "Henry's gone missing." I did my best to not let my voice waver as I waited for him to say something, 'Hurry up! Answer me!' I wanted to let the Evil Queen loose and figure out where my son was, but I knew if I did that the toddler in my arms wouldn't react well. She had been afraid of the Evil Queen cartoon the other day, I could only imagine what she would say if she saw me transform while she was wrapped tightly in my arms.

            Finally I heard shuffling on the other side of the line, presumably putting on his coat, "Have you checked the rest of the house?"

            "Yes of course I did! It's torn to shreds! Someone's taken him!" I got angrier with every second he wasn't in the cruiser helping me look for him. I almost had to laugh because, of course I had checked the rest of the house, this wasn't the first time he had gone missing, but I had a feeling that he wasn't with his blonde mother who was still wrapped tightly against me. I slightly craved for him to move faster, I mean this was his only grandson we were talking about.

            Emma's tiny arms gripped me tighter feeling how frustrated I was becoming, not wanting to feel bad she leaned up and placed a single kiss on my cheek, shocking me even further. Willing my body to relax, I took a breath before speaking again, my mayoral mask gone, "I don't know what to do…"

            I was met with the dial tone as Charming hung up on me not even bothering to say anything, making me wonder if he was actually going to look for Henry or not. I huffed, shifting Emma to my other hip as I walked back up the stairs to my bedroom. I placed Emma on the bed regretfully before dashing to the bathroom to change out of my pajamas quickly. I helped the princess into some of her own clothes I conjured up while I was in the other room before promptly picking her up again. She seemed to be loving the attention I was giving her, but I wished it wasn't because I thought if I let her out of my site for more than a second she would disappear. I had already lost Henry, I wasn't going to lose her too. ‘ _I want my family back._ ’

            Pacing around the room with her in my arms, I decided to go wait on the porch for Charming and his 'soft ball team' to show up in order to look for my son. Grabbing a few things to do my makeup while the two of us waited, I padded down the stairs again, careful to avoid the broken glass of what used to be a mirror. I heard something crinkle under my foot as I reached the door – it was a photo of Henry, Emma, and I at the beach just a few weeks prior, all of us were smiling and at the time everything was perfect. ' _What I wouldn't give to be back there,_ ' I wished.

            Bending down I hid it from Emma as I picked it up, not sure if she would recognize the woman in the photo as herself but a mere 25 years older. She seemed to be none the wiser as I sat her down on the outside of the steps but still snuggled into my side, I could see the wonder flitter over her face as I quickly did my makeup. I yearned to be out there looking for my son, but I couldn't just leave the tiny princess alone, and I didn't know how she would react to seeing me use magic – I didn't have time to calm her down because she didn't understand how teleportation worked. Pretending to be calm for the girl's sake I took a few deep breaths as I started to hear the police sirens in the distance.

            Quickly finishing my mascara I put my makeup back behind one of the porch pillars and picked Emma up again. "Gina?" She asked, still choosing not to use my full name.

            "Hmmm?" I questioned, my eyes never leaving the street as I watched the black and white car that getting closer. It was followed by several others that I recognized but didn't care to remember whose they were.

            "Where Henry?" her voice was so innocent it made my heart clench, she didn't understand what was going on and I didn't know how to explain it to her. I tried to remember what it was like to be her age, and how helpless I felt knowing there wasn't anything that I could do, and it made me realize how similar the two of us really are. Her eyes never left mine as I tried to buy myself more time before telling her.

            I took a moment, ripping my eyes away from Charming and his wife who jumped out of the car, "I'm not sure honey," She leaned down into my neck, clutching the camisole I had thrown on earlier. I through I heard her mumble something about missing him, but wasn't sure because it was the same time that Snow came rushing up to the house.

            "What happened?" She was followed by Charming, Red, Granny, and a couple dwarves.

            "I'm not sure, Emma and I woke up to find Henry missing. The whole house has been torn apart." The soft ball team pushed past me and into the house, trying to ignore how the King and Queen's princess was buried in their rival's chest – they didn't have time for it.

            I could hear door slamming through the mansion, apparently no one trusted me when I said I had already checked everywhere. Choking back my tears, which seemed to be a theme these past few days, I waited for everyone to reappear, just wanting my son back as soon as possible. My brain shot back to when Greg and Tamara had strapped me down on the metal table by the docks, wondering if something like that was happening to Henry – I could only pray that he was safe. I shut my eyes burying my face in Emma's hair and tried to remember if there was anything out of place in Storybrooke yesterday, I needed to know why my son had disappeared.

            I almost fell forward as a rush of magic shot through my body, putting all my senses on high alert. It had come from somewhere inside the house, and I'm surprise I didn't noticed it earlier. ' _What was that?_ ' I asked myself, trying not to tell Emma about my magic and cover up the stumble that had her latching on even tighter to my neck. If she knew that I could make just about anything appear, it would change the whole course of her memories after she was changed back into the adult version of herself. She may end up not being a bounty hunter at all, therefore changing the history of everyone in Storybrooke; things could even go back to the way they were before the curse broke – one thing that I definitely didn't want.

            I slowly opened my eyes to check on the tiny savior in my arms, thankful that at this age she didn't have her magic – or didn't know she had it – it made it a whole lot easier when I went to step back over the threshold and into the mansion. The second my foot hit the tiled floor the two of us were thrown backwards across the lawn, landing thankfully unharmed on the grass.

            Emma gripped me for dear life as I landed on my back, not wanting to land on the poor child, and I could hear Snow and Granny shoot out of the house, having seen the wave of magic that must have lit up the foyer. I felt Emma crawl off my chest, taking handful of my tank top to try and help me sit up. Suddenly her tiny hands were gone and the sound of screaming could be heard, my eyes shot open to see Mary Margaret pressing her daughter against her chest, looking down at me. I slowly pulled myself to my feet, as Emma was quickly passed to me, Snow instantly realizing that picking Emma up was a bad choice to begin with. The faster the little girl stopped crying, the faster we could all figure out where Henry had gone.

            I couldn't place where the magic had come from, but I could feel from somewhere deep within me that I recognized the sorceresses signature, I just couldn't place who it was. The rest of the Charming soft ball team came out of the house, "Do you remember anything Regina? The whole house is a mess except for your room. You must have heard something happening," Charming asked, taking a few more steps to be closer to his wife, his eyes trying to look anywhere but his daughter.

            I shook my head, "All I know is that when the three of us went to bed last night, everything was perfectly normal. And then I woke up this morning to Emma telling me that Henry had gone missing." Demanding my body to stay calm, I asked Charming what the Sheriff station wanted to do in this situation. He began to explain what he thought was best for the town, but I zoned him out, my brain making a list of places Henry could be hiding. I could feel Snow's eyes on me and Emma as I stood there, I tried, but certainly failed, to pay attention to what her husband was saying.

            An hour later, I found myself placing an overnight bag on the adult Emma's bed in the Charming's loft. It had been decided that until someone could figure out where the magic had come from, and Henry had been found safe, Emma and I would be staying under the same people that I loathed the most. I laid the princess on the bed next to my bag, wanting to put some of the things I had brought, away. I pulled out Emma's baby blanket and handed it to her, stopping short when I noticed the quilt that was already on the bed. It was the same one that Henry had brought to adult Emma after she had spilled juice on her at one of our 'family' movie nights; the sight of it made me smile, I would give anything to be back watching Finding Nemo with my family. ‘ _Emma sang “just keep swimming” for almost half hour, making both Henry and I burst out laughing every time she started humming._ ’

            Snow and Charming had called a town meeting the second they'd left the mansion, rushing off to the designated meeting place down the street. I was told that the town would start searching the area for Henry, and I was to stay here and protect Emma, not wanting to slow down the search process. I longed to be out there looking for my son, but every time I snuck into the bathroom to try and use a locator spell to find him, my magic would frizzle out and just leave a slight burning smell in the air. Someone needed to find him and fast before things got too out of hand. ' _What, or WHO, could have done this?_ '


	5. Chapter 5

            The sun had gone done some time ago, leaving the apartment in the soft glow of the TV. Emma was watching some cartoon, trying to stay awake as she laid on the couch, snuggled up in her baby blanket. I glanced over in the midst of my pacing, noticing she had her thumb in her mouth, sucking on it. ' _That's new,_ ' I cocked my head to the side wondering when she had started doing that. It must be one of her ways of dealing with what's going on around her, but by any chance she shouldn't be doing it, it could cause some damage to her teeth, but as I remember the older Emma's smile I couldn't help but think about how perfect it was. I forced myself to stop wearing a hole in the wood flooring of my former enemy's apartment, and sat down next to the princess on the couch. It didn't take long before she had situated herself in my lap, leaning back against my chest, never taking her eyes off the TV.

            It was a few minutes later when Snow and Charming came sagging through the door, dropping their belongings on the kitchen counter. Before I could even ask if they had found anything, Charming shook his head, running his hands through his hair. The two of them seemed exhausted, like they could almost fall asleep where they were standing. It was quiet for a moment before a loud scream startled us. Neal had woken up from his carrier that Snow had brought home from the babysitter's, she unbuckled him, picked hip and walked into her bedroom, shutting the curtain that separated the rooms – which did nothing to quiet the sounds of the screaming baby.

            Charming seemed to be busying himself in the kitchen when I told Emma it was time for bed, I had definitely let her stay up way later than any other child should, but I knew she wasn't going to sleep unless I was in the room with her. She crawled up the stairs sleepily, not bothering to stand to her feet when she reached the top step, she made her way to the bed on all fours looking more like a child than ever. I helped her onto the bed and told her to wait there while I changed, when I got back I felt a small hand try and wrap around my wrist as I rolled back the covers to the bed.

            "Henry found?" she mumbled, not stopping the big yawn that followed.

            Leaning over her, I brushed a few strands of hair out of her face, making a mental reminder to try and give her a bath again later because she was already getting dirty. "Not yet baby, we're still looking for him." I placed a kiss on her forehead, whispering into her hair, "But he'll be home soon, I promise." She nodded, and I waited until her eyes were fully closed before climbing into the bed myself and wrapping my body around hers. The pillow smelled like the adult Emma, and I silently wondered why the smaller version of the savior didn't smell like the older one.

            I laid awake in bed the entire night, my eyes shifting from the small girl buried in my arms and the shadows on the wall behind her. I wasn't going to let whatever happened to Henry happen to Emma too. My brain kept reeling with possibilities, creating different situations that couldn't have actually occurred. It was nearly four in the morning, and I still hadn't closed my eyes to sleep.

            ' _Cora's dead,_ ' I thought, going through my list again, seeing if I was missing anything, ' _Greg and Tamara are trapped and dead in Neverland, Rumple wouldn't hurt his grandson, the wraith is back in the Enchanted Forest…what else is there?_ ' my brain went blank. What else could have caused my son to disappear?

            Charming knocked on the door to the loft a few short hours later, I groggily woke up after having forced myself to sleep for a few minutes last night. Emma wriggled from her spot next to me, pushing her face into the pillow, making me smile imaging the adult her doing the same thing. "Regina?" the prince called out, thankfully wary of the sleeping girl. I slipped from the bed and pulled the blanket back over Emma before flicking my wrist and conjuring up some clothes, not wanting the prince to see me in anything less than perfect. It suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't been able to use a locator spell yesterday but had no problem in preforming other spells. ' _…weird…_ '

            I pulled open the door and walked into the hallway a few seconds later, wondering what the man could have wanted. "Gold just called, he thinks he has a lead on where Henry went." My eyebrows shot up, anything regarding my son had my full and undivided attention. I nodded, pushing past him to make my way down the stairs in search of coffee. Snow was sitting at the counter feeding Neal a bottle as I made a quick cup of coffee and grabbed my purse, temporarily forgetting about the other small child I was looking after.

            I was almost out the door waiting for Charming to follow when his voice called out behind me, "Snow can you watch Emma while we're gone?" I was upset that I had already forgotten about the toddler but I hid my worry behind my mayoral mask, quacking assuring Snow that she shouldn't be too much trouble, before her prince and I slithered out the door.

            It was nearly 7:30 when we reached the sheriff station, Gold was waiting out front drinking a cup of coffee like nothing had ever happened. The three of us sat down in the chairs surrounding the deputy's desk and got right down to business; any time wasted with small talk was another minute I lost with my son.

            "Well?" I spat when Gold didn't start talking right away.

            He cleared his throat and let out a little giggle, "Patience dearie." He flashed his little imp smile, "I want to find the precious boy just as much as you do." ' _If you and Henry weren't related, I would incinerate you where you stand._ '

            Rumple asked me to go over the events of yesterday just to make sure he was clear on everything, and when I was done telling the story for what felt like the millionth time, he flicked his wrist and a small silver ring rested in the middle of his palm. I could feel his magic start to dissipate as he spoke, "I found this on my desk this morning," his eyes trailed down to the object, a noticeable script written on the side. He picked it up and read the small writing out loud.

            It was a spell I had never heard before, Charming and I both stare at him in disbelief. My eyes went wide as he stood up and placed the silver band on the floor, taking a few steps backwards. A hologram-life figure appeared above the ring – like something you would see in one of Henry's spy movies. I choked back a sob as the image became clearer, there was no sound, but I could only imagine what it was like.

            Three feet in front of me was my son, lying down on some sort of wooden table, strapped down, unable to move. "My baby," I whispered, taking a deep breath. I watched as a black figure walked up to Henry and poured a vile down this throat, he was unconscious almost immediately. Who could this be? The person was looked more like a shadow than that of a human, and I could only stare as the darkness moved out of frame again, leaving my son on the table lifeless. I sunk to my knees unable to handle it anymore, the sob that tried to escape was muffled as I brought my hands up to my face. ' _I'm coming Henry, I swear._ '

            When I looked up a few moments later, the image had faded away. Charming had the enchanted object in his hands, turning it over and over as if it was going to give him another clue to where his grandson could be. "What was that?" My voice cracked as I stood back up and I did nothing to try and hide it. Since Emma had arrived for the second time on my doorstep my emotions were out of control, it seemed I couldn't stop crying as of late. At first I had blamed it on me trying to be a mother to a small toddler again, especially one that had been through way too much already, but now I'm beginning to think it had to do with something completely different.

            "It's called a Perception Ring," Gold explained, "It allows you to essentially take a 'video' of something and project it whenever you want. I've only ever heard stories about them, I've never actually seen one in person." He took the ring back from the prince and slipped it back into his pocket. "Whomever left his for me," I wrapped my arms around my body, physically trying to keep myself together, "is much more powerful than you or I."

            Our eyes locked and I knew instantly that there was going to be a long road ahead of us, we needed to find Henry fast, especially before the person keeping him captive realized the significance of Storybrooke itself. I had never told anyone this, but if he was to ever stop believing fairy tales since the curse broke, the whole town would be whisked up in a portal; it was a failsafe device I had made when he was just a few years younger. Storybrooke had become so dependent on the dreams and imagination of my son, that it was impossible for him to leave now.

            When he had first gotten his story book, the energy that he put into believing in those stories was sucked up into the earth, keeping the town alive, and if he was to forget us, nothing good would come of it. He had been the one that kick started the magic in my crypt, Daniel's ring, and the poison apple I had later used to try and poison his birth mother. When he was the one to eat the pastry, I nearly died, not because of the loss of my son, but because the magic that had been keeping us all alive started to fade away. I owe everything to my son, another hour under the sleeping curse and Storybrooke would have no longer existed. ‘ _I probably fucked up making the whole town rely on Henry._ ’

            "Do you know who could possess such power?" Charming questioned, unaware of the debate running inside my head. We need to find my son fast, or everything we had come to love would be swept away again, and I wasn't going to let that happen. I had only just figured out my feelings for Emma.

            Rumple shook his head as an answer, "I don't dearie, and no one's seen one of these for centuries. I don't even know there was one in this land." He proceeded to say that the owner of the ring was capable of changing the saved video at any point in time, "It's like a phone for example," he laughed dry-heartedly, "You can save and delete videos any time you want, so who ever owns this, can communicate with us, but we can't communicate with them."

            "Okay so, where do we start looking for this…owner? It can't be that hard right?"

            "Well Regina," Rumple smirked, he paused for a minute slumping when he realized he didn't have an answer.

            I laughed, pulling the Evil Queen out, "I never thought I'd see the day you, the Dark One, were left speechless." It was my turn to smirk, the two of us locking eyes in what seemed to be a no-blinking contest.

            Someone cleared their throat, breaking the two of us apart. At some point Rump-A-Dump and I had stepped towards each other, now standing face to face. I towered over him, making me remember why I liked wearing my heels. We turned to see Charming standing on the other side of the room, a blush creeping over his face, "Where do we go from here?"

            Gold and I glanced back at each other and then back to the Prince, we shrugged, "I don't knew dearie," Gold whispered, trying to keep the authority in his voice but failing.

            "What do you mean you don't know?" His voice rose, slightly scaring me. The only other time I had ever seen him like this was when he and Snow had come over to try and take my tiny Emma back. He crossed the room in three large steps, and was suddenly face to face with me. Standing there, the two of us were the same height, but I could feel myself slowly cowering underneath him. I straightened my spine, physically not backing down. "You two are two of the most powerful beings in Storybrooke, and you don't know where to look for my grandson?" He looked me in the eyes, unrelenting.

            I placed my hand on his chest and pushed, trying to get him to back off. He strides forward again, pushing me right back, but instead of standing upright, I landed flat on my ass as the wind got knocked out of me. I raised my hand from where I was sitting and created a fireball to shoot back at him, if he wanted to push me around, I had no intention of losing. ‘ _Biggest mistake of your life shepherd._ ’

            "Madame Mayor," Gold hissed, waiting for me to stand back up.

            I dusted myself off and paused for him to go on, but he was interrupted when a loud shrill bounced off the stone walls of the mall jail. I picked up my purse, grabbing my phone out of the front pocket, "Insipid Fool," the caller ID read, I smirked knowing instantly who it was.

            "Snow?" I sneered into the device, all eyes on me.

            "Gina?" a small voice replied on the other side, startling me when it wasn't the princess I was expecting.

            "Emma?"

            "Can you come get me?" I heard a small sniff, and then a rustle of fabric. I picked up my things and started walking toward the door, abandoning the two other men. I figured that they could handle the Henry situation for now, while I went to go see what was wrong with the toddler I was supposed to be taking care of.

            I heard Snow's voice on the other side of the line, it seemed distant, like she was in another room. "Emma? Emma?" she was obviously searching for the little girl, trying to figure out where she had disappeared to. "Come here sweetheart," she tried, but I could hear Emma try and push herself further into her hiding spot.

            "Princess?" I asked, trying to determine if she was still on the line.

            "I'm scared Gina," Emma whispered into the phone before I was met with the dial tone. I bent down and removed my heels, taking off in a sprint towards the apartment, too scared to waste any of my magical energy.


	6. Chapter 6

            I threw the door open, as I entered the apartment I was sharing for the time being. "Regina?" Snow's surprised voice came from the kitchen. I quickly scanned the room for some sort of threat, but came up empty. When the small child had called, I thought that something was wrong, but upon arriving, nothing looked out of place. Forcing myself to calm down, I stoned my face, not letting anything show.

            "Where's Emma?" I asked plaintively, placing my bag down, and putting my shoes away, after having carried them for three blocks.

            "She's locked herself in the bathroom," the school teacher sighed and tilted her head towards the proffered door. "She woke up shortly after you two left, and cried for nearly forty five minutes," I glanced over at her other child, who was sleeping in the crib, unaware of what was going on. "I...I didn't know what to do," a small tear made its way down her cheek, as she tried to admit something, but stopped herself. I started to wonder what she meant, my brain instantly envisioning some of the things Cora used to do to me.

            "Snow," I said sternly, trying to calm myself before I could make the situation worse. "What did you do?" I waited a moment, watching as the woman I thought I knew wandered aimlessly through the kitchen, trying to keep herself busy. She started hand washing the dishes in the sink, even though I knew that there was perfectly good dishwasher right next to her. I began to understand that her and I are more alike than I thought we should be. We had both lost our children, now twice, and knew what it was like to not have things go the way we want.

            I heard her snuff before she turned back towards me, tears still prominent in her eyes. "I was trying to get her to calm down, and then Neal started crying, I was just getting so upset." I took a few steps towards her, wondering what was so bad that she did. "I...I…" she repeated. "I was so frustrated, I hit her." she was sobbing into her hands now, ashamed of what she had done.

            Taking a few deep breaths, I made the last few steps towards the daughter I didn't know what to do with. I ran my hand up and down her back stiffly, uncomfortable with what was going on. I had no real experience for how to comfort a person who was older than the age of 5, knowing that I never really had anyone to practice on. We stood there for a few moments, as the other woman's breathing slowed down to normal.

            "Well she also took you phone," I snickered, slightly wondering how she had known how to use it.

            Snow filled her cheeks with air, before slowly releasing it. "Yeah, I know," she exhaled. "I told her earlier if she calmed down, that I would help her call you. She must have grabbed it earlier in her mad dash to the bathroom." Her tears slowed, and she brought her hands up to fix her make up.

            I waited a moment, watching as the woman I thought I knew wandered aimlessly through the kitchen, trying to keep herself busy. She started hand washing the dishes in the sink, even though I knew that there was perfectly good dishwasher right next to her.

 

She caught a sob in her throat, before turning to look at me. I watched as she couldn't quite meet my eyes, looking just over my shoulder at something in the distance. She nodded to the bathroom after a minute, dismissing me to go check on her daughter.

            I knocked on the wood door frame, almost afraid of what I would find inside. "Emma?" I asked carefully, wanting her to come out on her own accord, and not make her feel threatened. I knew enough to know that was the reason why she had locked herself away, because when you grow up in a world where you don't know what's going to happen next, it is easier to take yourself away and focus on what little control you have left. I had to do this same exact thing growing up with Cora, although after a while, she had started using magic to get into the room, making me want to curl up into myself even more.

            ' _I should have never cast that curse,_ ' I chided myself, ' _No little girl should have to go through this...But if I hadn't, I wouldn’t have Emma or Henry._ ' I tried to reassure myself of my actions, but I couldn't seem to do it. I knew if I hadn't threatened Snow and Charming, Emma would have never gone through the wardrobe, and she would be sitting in a castle right now, probably having some royalty fawning over her hand and foot. But if I hadn't I would never have had the chance to meet the most amazing son, and his blonde mother.

            A small whisper came from the other side of the door, but I couldn't make out what it had said. "Emma, can you open the door please?" I pleaded, I could feel Snow's wide eyes on my back, as I pressed a hand against the wood, like that was going to make her open it quicker.

            I heard the click of the lock, but when the door didn't open, I took that as my opportunity to go in. Shutting the door behind me I made sure that Emma couldn't see her supposed mother, before picking her up and sitting on the covered toilet. I could tell the toddler had been crying already, and knew it was going to be a few minutes before she was ready to talk. She had scratched her arms raw, with worry, a coping mechanism, reminding herself that she was still there. Cradling her into my shoulder, I wondered what it would be like to do this with the adult version of her.

            My brain began to imagine what it would be like to have the woman come rushing into my house, not caring that I was working on something in my office. She would run up to me, mascara bleeding down her face, and I would instantly stand up, discarding the city paper work, pulling her into my arms. The two of us would stand there, while I placed kisses on her cheek and neck, trying to help her calm down enough so I could ask her what was wrong. I would lift her up in my arms, carrying her up the stairs and to my bed helping her lay down, and take her back into my arms.

            I imagined myself pulling her whole body into mine, kissing her on the forehead as she tried to collect all of her thoughts. Eventually she would tell me about something that was bothering her at work, or something that had happened in her childhood. And I would hold her, and listen to every word she said, telling her what I thought she would do, and how I would react in that situation. I would wait until she had fallen asleep that night. Exhaustion sweeping over her body, before I would whisper into the darkness, "I love you Emma."

            Lurching back to the real world, I felt the little toddler shift in my arms. "I'm scared," I heard her repeat the same phrase from when she called me earlier. I contemplated if she had ever told anyone she was scared in situations like this; it would explain the brick wall the woman had formed around herself.

            "I know sweetheart," how do you explain to a child who can't understand their left from their right, that someone was just caught up in the moment, and acted out of anger and fear? I knew Emma had grown up around violence, but when someone accidentally does something, children don't have the ability to understand that. I pressed a kiss to her forehead like I had done in my day dream, and wrapped my arms around her tighter. "She didn't mean to do it Princess," I settled on.

            Emma's light eyelashes fluttered across my skin, not leaving her spot. Her head was resting on my chest, her ear pressed into my heart listening to its steady beat. "Why?" she mumbled, bringing her hands up to wipe at her face.

            I swear she could hear my heart stop as I tried to think of an answer. No violence should ever come to a child, and the fact that someone hadn't done it on purpose, I don't even understand that. I grew up with one of the worst people I had ever known, and it made me wonder why anyone would ever try and control a child's life, knowing that it's not their own. "I don't know Princess, but I do know," I lifted her up, trying to make my voice light and happy, and helped her kneel in my lap. I cradled her chin, making sure I had her attention before I spoke again. "I do know, that she is very, very sorry."

            She didn't say anything for a while, but I watched as her emotions ran through her eyes. The green orbs staring back at me, make me want to crawl away and die. Emma asked me why someone would try and hurt her, why they would treat her one way, but act like another. "Gina?" the three year old urged.

            "Yes baby?"

            "Can we go please?" I knew that she didn't mean if we could just leave the bathroom, but if we could leave the apartment. Knowing that it would be easier to submit to her needs, and let her control the situation, than to let her freak out and retreat into herself by keeping her there with Snow, I agreed.

            Picking her up I lead her out of the bathroom, letting her take her position back in my chest, refusing to meet her supposed mother's eyes. I placed the pixie haired woman's phone next to her on the counter, before I nodded, and headed up the stairs. I knew it would be futile if I tried to wait it out, and let Emma try and connect again with Snow, so I helped her pack what little belongings she had.

            I almost cried realizing I was forcing her to move to yet another location, but I decided it was different; because I was going with her. From what I had read during my late night research sessions on my phone after she had gone to sleep, was that when a foster child moved homes, they were often separated from the children and adults they had become accustomed to trusting or living with. I was quick to remind myself that living with someone and trusting them were two completely different things, and it pushed me to remember that children have a hard time agreeing with an adult, if they don't have control over what's going on around them.

            Emma ran into the room at Granny's, barely waiting for me to unlock it. I had called Charming after I had packed up our things at his apartment, and asked if we were allowed to go back to my own house. But unfortunately, I was told that it was still in a 'police crime scene'. I laughed at myself, knowing that he didn't actually didn't have a plan on going back and checking for any new clues.

            I watched as the toddler jumped as high as she could, landing on her stomach on the bed. She had a smile reaching her eyes, as she explored the room. Over the past few days I had seen her unwind so much from how she arrived on my front step, that it amazed me that they were the same person.

            Letting her do what children do best, I slipped into the bathroom, careful to lock the front door so she couldn't go anywhere else. I took a deep breath, my brain wandering back to my only son. It was hard to retain that the child in the other room wasn't mine, and that I had my own child that had gone missing a few short hours ago. I leaned my body against the door frame, the cool wood contrasting with my heated skin. It reminded me that I was still there, and that I had a responsibility to fulfill. ‘ _You need to focus Regina. Come on, focus on getting Henry back and taking care of Emma._ ’

            A shallow knock came at the door, reverberating against me. I opened it to find Emma standing at the threshold, pushing my phone up towards me. Someone was calling me, and when I took it, I almost pressed 'end call', but my thumb hovered when I read the caller ID. I knew that she couldn't read, so she didn't know who was calling me.

            "Henry?" my voice wavered unfaithfully, when I finally worked up the courage to answer it. I had tried to call him a thousand times since Emma had discovered he was missing, but every time I got voice mail. I'll even admit that the night before, I had called his phone, not in hope of reaching him, but in hope of listening to his voice on the voice mail message. Him and I had set it up for his tenth birthday, when I had finally relented and got him a phone, telling him it was because it was he had to go to therapy with Doctor Hopper so much. That had been 3 years ago, and his voice had changed so much over the time. 'I've lost so much time with him.'

            There was a loud bang on the other side, instinctively making me shrink back into myself; it had sounded so much like a gunshot. "Mom?" his voice came from the other side, he sounded like he was in pain.

            "Oh Henry! Where are you honey?" I asked, regretfully pushing past the smaller woman and sitting down on the bed. Emma crawled up next to me, sitting herself in my lap. I started mindlessly playing with her hair, unaware of what I was doing.

            "Mommy, I'm scared," he whispered, reminding me of Emma earlier that morning.

            "Shh, honey, I know." I took a breath, trying not to cry. "Henry, can you tell me where you are?"

            He sniffed, sounding like Emma from earlier. "I don't know mommy." I could hear someone yelling on the other side for him to hurry up before took his phone. I knew I recognized their voice, but I couldn't quite figure it out who it belonged to. "I love you mommy," I heard him whisper, almost inaudibly, before hanging up. I sat there for a few minutes listening to the beep of the disconnect tone flowing through my ear. I pulled Emma into me, smiling when she wrapped her arms tightly around my neck.

            "I love you baby," I didn't know if I was saying it to Emma or Henry.


	7. Chapter 7

            Charming raced up the stairs to the station where Emma and I were waiting. "Henry called you?" He asked in belief. After I gotten over the astonishment of it all, I had called Snow and Charming, telling them they needed to meet me at the Sheriff's station. I nodded my head, ducking into the building, getting away from the wind that had picked up recently. Emma's eyes were wide as she looked around the jail house, trying to soak things in. Snow and Neal walked behind us at a safe distance, not wanting Emma to feel threatened.

            "He called me, told me that he was scared and that he loved me, and then I could hear someone in the background telling him to hurry up. Then he hung up on me." I gave Charming my phone, letting him look at the number, and figure out if he could do anything to track it. I knew it was possible to track it, but none of us had the expertise.

            After a few moments he let out a huff, "If we had her," he signaled towards Emma. She was the only one in the town who had the professional training in this sort of thing. ' _Ugh, why did she have to get turned into a toddler the same time as our son went missing?_ ' I started pacing back and forth, trying to figure out something to do. After Henry had hung up on me and I had called in the idiots, I had been trying nonstop to call him back, but sadly there was no answer.

            I was in the middle of my pacing when a small hand grabbed my skirt, startling me. "Gina?" she asked, halting my administrations. "Up?" she held her arms up, her green eyes flickered towards Snow for a moment, and I saw a flash of fear run through the emerald orbs. Once she had wrapped her arms around my neck, and had settled into me, I resumed my pacing, trying to figure out a way to find out who had Henry.

            For nearly an hour the three adults in the room spouted off random things we could do when I felt Emma start to fall asleep in my arms. I gently walked over to the bed in the jail, while telling Snow and Charming to talk quieter, and placed her on the metal. It was just then that Gold decided to run into the station, his cane only letting him go so fast.

            "Dearies, I have something that might interest you," he insinuated, placing the silver band on the floor; it was another video message of Henry.

            Glancing back over at Emma, I made sure she was sleeping, before I took a few more steps towards the image. Henry was slumped over in a corner of some room, his clothes torn, with tears running down his face. His arms were wrapped around himself, and it looked as if he was asleep. I slid to the floor, trying but failing to throw on my mayoral mask before I started crying for my baby. I watched as a black figure walked into the room, and reached down to grab Henry by the arms hard. He woke up immediately, but was gagged and tied up before he could scream. The black figure than picked his body half off the ground, dragging him out of the shot.

            The image faded away into the ring, leaving me staring at the wall on the other side of the room. I could feel my breathing becoming faster, signaling a panic attack. I bent down, burying my head in my hands, trying to pretend like I was the only person there. I had always known the triggers for my panic attacks, but normally I had the opportunity to rush into a nearby meeting room or something, but now I had a child missing, and one to that was sitting a few feet away, asleep.

            A few minutes later I felt a hand land on the top of my back, running up and down, trying to comfort me. "It's okay," Snow whispered, when I didn't look up. "We'll find him, family always finds each other." her voice died off, as if she didn't believe the words she was saying.

            It had been nearly a week, and there was still no sign of what happened to Henry. Charming and Snow had left Neal with Ruby, and had been out looking for him at every available moment. So far Emma and I had ventured very little outside the hotel room, only for us to go to the town hall so I could grab some work to do. I could tell Emma had started to become antsy, not being able to run around as much in the 2 rooms, so I decided to take her to the park today.

            I watched as Emma ran up and down the play equipment I had built for Henry a couple of years ago, when I was trying to wean him away from believing in the curse. Sitting on the grass and reading over a few documents, my head jolted up when the blonde toddler started crying. There were other parents and children all around us, everyone staring when I made the quick dash to the young girl who had fallen from the monkey bars.

            "Shh, princess," I whispered into her hair when I picked her up. She had tears streaming down her face, as I sat there on my knees in the middle of a park in my power suit. I helped her stand up so I could make sure there wasn't any blood coming from anywhere. Emma only lasted a second before she had launched herself back around me, not wanting to be alone for a second.

            Trying to ignore the staring eyes, I walked calmly back over to the blanket I had set up earlier, and cleaned up the few papers that had flown around; all the while an abnormal sized savior was clinging to my neck. The two of us left the park soon thereafter, my stomach turning in knots as I could hear the town's people whispering behind my back.

            I climbed into the back of the car with Emma, placing her in the car seat. She refused to let go, so I sat there for a while, rocking her back and forth, placing random kisses on the top of her head. My brain flashed back to when this exact same thing happened when Henry was growing up. We had sat in the back of my car for nearly an hour before he had agreed to sit in his seat so I could drive us home. But now, he was off somewhere missing, and I had no idea where he was.

            Every night when Emma went to sleep, I would slip into the bathroom, and try and call Henry again. And every night, he never answered. I had started to worry that we were never going to find him again. By the time Emma and I reached Granny's, I could hear her stomach grumble.

            "Are you hungry princess?" I asked, laughing.

            "Yeah!" she answered with the enthusiasm of a toddler. We walked into the restaurant, and found a secluded table in the back. It was nearly empty, every adult who didn't have to watch a kid, was out in search of the town's truest believer. I don't know if it was just me or what, but the town seemed a lot quieter without him running around talking to everyone he sees. With Emma she has a hard time trusting and talking to a person if she doesn't know them, sometimes physically leading me away from large groups of people.

            Ruby brought over our drinks, I could see Neal in his car seat on the floor near the counter. I guess Snow and Charming were out leading another search party in the forest. She quickly took our orders, making sure not to touch Emma, and went back to simultaneously working and babysitting. Last time we had come in, and Ruby had accidentally touched the savior on the shoulder, I had had a crying three year old for nearly two hours. I saw Ruby slink back into the shadows, seeing that she had upset the woman who used to be one of her best friends.

            After Emma had calmed down, I had to go back to the restaurant and remind Ruby that the Emma now, wasn't the Emma we both knew. It's hard to understand when you've known someone for a few years, and then they are magically turned into a child, that they don't remember you at all. During the first few nights with her, I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't the woman that had stolen my son from me the first time. But having her here as a toddler, has made realize how much I miss and adore, the adult version of her.

            "Madame Mayor!" Granny yelled from the other side of the room, she was pointing out the front window at something in the street. She glanced back at me before throwing her dish towel down, and running out the front door, prompting me to follow her. I rapidly collected Emma into my arms, following Ruby and Neal out the door. I ran down the steps, and into the street. A small crowd was huddled around something on the road.

            Placing Emma down on the ground, I pushed my way through the crowd. When I reached the center, I fell to my knees, lying unconscious in the middle of Main Street, was Henry. "Call Dr. Whale!" I barked at someone, I didn't have time to see who it was, before I was crawling the last few feet to my son. I ran my hand over his sweat and dirt covered forehead, "Henry?" I gathered him in my arms, unaware of all the people surrounding us.

            I watched as his eye lashes flickered, fighting to wake up. He mumbled something I couldn't make out, and then went limp. “Henry!” I cried, oblivious to the fact that the crowd had parted, in order to let Dr. Whale and a few doctors through. I was bent over his body, pressing my forehead against his, feeling my tears fall down my cheek, and land on his.

            "Your majesty?" I heard a man say after clearing his throat. The rest of the town was silent, as I looked up to see who had spoken. "We need to get him to the hospital," Victor stated hesitantly. Carefully, I watched as he bent down next to me, taking Henry out of my arms, and placing him on a gurney.

            "Would you like to ride with us?" one of the medical staff asked as Henry was pushed into an ambulance.

            "No." I said, sniffing. I ran my hand under my nose suddenly, my spine straightening. “Emma?” I swiveled around looking for the tiny head of blonde hair. The crowd had dispersed, all making their way towards the hospital, leaving the street fairly empty. My eyes scanned the street, not finding Emma anywhere. I heard Dr. Whale say something about going to the hospital, but I needed to find the toddler before I could leave. Sighing, I noticed she was sitting on the sidewalk, arms around herself, kicking a rock in the gutter.

            "Come here Emma," I called, wishing I could leave her with someone else while I go and make sure my son was alright. Reluctantly she stood up, her eyes never leaving the ground, as she walked towards me. I bent down, wondering what had caused the abrupt attitude change. "Princess?" I cupped her chin in my hand, forcing her eyes to meet mine. "What's wrong?"

            She just shrugged before stepping back out of my reach, and sticking out her hand. As we started walking towards the car across the street, I couldn't help but wonder what had gone on in that short amount of time to make her like this. Over the past couple days, she had been more outgoing and vocal with me, but now she a completely different person. I placed her in her car seat, our meals from earlier, completely forgotten. I buckled both of us before rushing off to the hospital to make sure my baby was okay.

            By the time we reached the building, the parking lot was completely full. Parking on the street, I picked up Emma and all but ran into the building. It was nearly impossible to get through the crowd of people inside, but once we did, I walked right up to the lone nurse at the check in desk.

            I cleared my throat professionally, trying to get her attention. "Excuse me?"

            Her eyes jerked up when she heard who was talking. "Oh, Your Highness," I smirked as she stopped herself before bowing, ' _Some habits die hard,_ ' I joked in my head, laughing at how helpless she seemed.

            "Where's my son?" I asked as authoritatively as I could. Having a three year old strapped to your hip, and a giant diaper bag was anything but menacing, but by the look on her face, it seemed to work.

            She gulped before whispering, "We can't allow him any visitors right now."

            I turned, ignoring her calls and pleas to stop, I stormed past the 'Doctors Only' sign, and walked briskly down the hallway in search of my son. A man ran around me, trying to stop me as I saw Dr. Whale come out of a room a few feet away.

            "We can't-"

            I neglected his weak testaments as I walked straight up to Victor. "What's going on?" I demanded, keeping the Evil Queen at bay for the sake of the small child I had in my arms. Emma shifted as Whale listed off the tests he wanted to run on my son, all the while trying not to tell me what was really going on. I placed her on the ground, not noticing when she took off down the hallway, towards Henry's room.

            "He's in a coma Madame Mayor." Whale informed me professionally, as if was just another patient. Just then a thundering bang could be heard from my son's room. Victor's eyes met with mine for a moment, before the two of us made the short distance to see what the loud sound was.


	8. Chapter 8

            The glass window was shattered across the floor, shards of glass glittering in the light on my son's hospital-issued blanket. Emma laid passed out on the ground having been hit with the majority of the window, there was blood pooling out around her and I couldn't help but run towards her. I could hear Victor brushing the glass off of Henry before calling for a couple nurses to help both of the small children. After a few minutes the princess was taken from my arms and wheeled into another room, presumably to stitch up her cuts and remove the glass pieces before they became infected.

            Henry was then wheeled out of the room after her, one nurse making sure that he was to get a clean blanket and combed his hair to make sure there was no glass in it. I was conflicted between which child I should follow, and I knew Emma was going to freak out when she woke up while getting stitches, so I went off in search of her. ' _God, I wished I could use magic to heal her so that we could just focus on Henry._ ’

            As I suspected, Emma was screaming when I finally found her room and I watched as someone administered a drug that would make her unconscious for the time being. "Do you want us to stich her up?" A lady asked, and I shook my head, my prayer had been answered, Emma would never know I used magic if she wasn't awake for it. I ran my hands over her body and cleared the glass and blood before lifting her back up in my arms against the nurse's insistence.

            "How long will that drug take affect?"

            "An hour at most, Your Majesty." I nodded and left the room, I needed to figure out what had caused the window the break and what the hell was going on with my son.

            Charming and Snow came running around the corner in search of their daughter, but I forced myself through them and felt them follow as I went Henry's room. He was laying just as peacefully as earlier, still unconscious and still hooked up to the noisy machines. I dragged a chair up next to his bed and situated the young princess in my lap so that she was pressed against my chest just like she liked, and I waited for the idiots to start talking.

            "What in the world happened?" Charming practically began shouting when he realized I wasn't going to start talking.

            "I have no idea. Emma ran into the room to see Henry and the window was shattered." I looked over my shoulder to look at him but he was already gone, Snow was the only one left staring at her daughter with regret in her eyes. "Where's Neal?"

            She cleared her throat being brought back to the present. "Umm, with Ruby. I didn't know what was going on and though he'd be safer with her." ' _Do you have a habit of handing your kids off for other people to take care of?_ '

            I looked back to Henry and refused to let go of the tiny girl in my arms. Whoever kidnapped my son was still out there and I wasn't planning on letting either child out of my sight ever again, not even for a second. The sound of footsteps could be heard leaving as I assumed Snow went to go and help Charming in his search for answers – I prayed they were successful.

            A little over an hour later I felt Emma start to shift in my arms and I began to rub my hand up and down her back, waiting for her to wake up fully, making sure not to let my eyes wander from Henry. The princess whimpered and dug her face further into my neck, when suddenly I felt my skin become wet and my body went ridged, ' _What is that?_ ' I slowly shifted Emma up so I could see what was going on. What I saw made my heart clench. She was crying. "What's wrong baby?"

            Her big green eyes were wet and I couldn't help but sympathize with her. "They made me sleep. I don't like it." She pulled herself back into my arms and that was the end of that. ' _She must have been in the hospital before and had been restrained. I wish more than anything I could take those painful memories away._ ' She must have fallen back asleep because it was hours later when I heard from her next.

            Charming and Gold had come in earlier and said they hadn't found whatever it was that had smashed the window, and the idiot Charming had the audacity to say that it was just some kids messing around throwing rocks. That obviously wasn't the case. Henry hadn't woken from his coma yet, and Doctor Whale had also been by to tell me that his odds of making it were slim, I had waited until he had left the room before I let my tears slip down my cheeks.

            Something felt off as I sat as stiff as a board in that chair next to Henry's bed, it was nearing dinner time and I had yet to move. Emma had sat up a few minutes earlier and I turned on the TV for her to watch while I let my eyes rake of Henry again. His body looked so small and fragile laying there under the baby blue blanket the hospital had given him, my baby boy was hurting and I didn't know how help him.

            While I clung to Emma tighter, listening to the cartoon that was playing, Henry's hospital door slowly creeped open. I held my breath when a shadow appeared in the doorway, a literal shadow. I couldn't recognize any facial features, but the dark figure loomed over me as I sat in the chair, clutching the girl who was supposed to be an adult, the one who I loved, tighter against me. I rose to my feet and tried to pull as much confidence together as I could, Emma's arms now wrapped around my body unsure of what was going on. "What do you want?"

            The shadow didn't reply.

            Time seemed to stop as the dark mass walked towards me and my family, its feet didn't touch the ground but I swear I could feel a heat coming from the body as it inched closer. Suddenly I was pushed back a few feet against Henry's bed and felt a rush of magic through me. I curled myself around Emma to protect her from whatever was happening, but when the flow of magic stayed constant, I looked up to see what was going on. A white force field had formed around Henry, Emma, and I, and I wasn't the one to place. It I recognized the white as Emma's magical signature and figured she had gotten so frightened that her magic kicked into action. Magic was emotion after all.

            The shadow reached its fists up and began pounding on the force field and Emma began crying, I don't know how she was able to keep it up, but I tugged her closer and muttered in her ear to keep doing whatever she was doing. The black mass slowly stepped around to the other side of the bed to get better access to Henry, only to be met with the force field stronger than ever. This time when it moved to try and break through it was thrown back into the wall and eventually faded like a mist. In an instant it was gone.

            I blinked a couple times, looking around the room to make sure it wasn't hiding anywhere while Emma's force field started to fall. It melted in to the ground but the little girl refused to look up from my spot, the use of her magic must have scared her too much. "Charming!" I yelled uncontrollably, covering Emma's ears with my hand. Someone needed to find that shadow before it hurt anyone else. I wasn't going to let someone else be kidnapped like Henry was, who know what he was put through.

            The prince and his softball team came barreling through the door, eyes all open wide. "What's wrong?"

            Giving him the abridged version he kicked out everyone except Gold and his wife. "We need to find that thing. Now." I urged, Emma was starting to cry again and I was beginning to grow frustrated that I couldn't take care of her and Henry at the same time; I began to understand what Snow was feeling when she asked me to take the little princess.

            "What do we do now?" Snow reached up to rub Emma's back but retreated her hand at the last second, instead taking a step closer to Henry and reaching for one of his hands.

            Gold sighed, "We find that shadow and capture him."

            The room fell silent, "Any idea on how to do that?" Charming felt as useless as I did, I had no idea how to trap a shadow, and I don't even know if it's possible.

            "Well…" the imp ran his hand over his chin, "We could trap the shadow in an enchanted jar, I've heard ancient stories about it, but if the shadow is the same thing that tore apart the Queen's mansion, than I don't think it would last a second in the container."

            The room fell silent, save for the beeping of Henry's hospital machines, and I felt the small sound that followed his heartbeat consume me, I don't know how, but it calmed me. "We could try and send it to a land that no longer exists…" My voice came out no louder than a whisper in the wind.

            Snow's eyes went wide, "A land that no longer exists? Is that possible?"

            I nodded, shifting Emma to my other hip, "Neverland was destroyed when we left, if we were able to find a portal to the island, I think we could trap the shadow there"

 

            The room went silent. "The Queen's correct, if we were able to send the shadow to Neverland, it would essentially disintegrate." I could see the wheels in Gold's mind turning. "We just need to find a portal. That should be..." I sighed, "easy."


End file.
